Jim Guild had twenty-six years of experience running his retail store, Famous Brands, in Watkins Glen, when an older brick building he’d had his eye on for years opened up.

“Everyone thought I was crazy to open up another store,” says Guild, an unassuming man whose quiet manner begins to give way to rising enthusiasm. “But in 2008, with gas prices at $4.28 a gallon, we’d had our best season ever!”

Guild’s newest project is the Seneca Lake General Store, and even though it’s only four months old, its retro product line, pressed tin ceiling, and Havana’s Creamery—an old-fashioned ice cream counter and deli—take patrons back much further than that. “Our tag line is ‘Remember When,’” says Guild who excitedly walks from pinball machines to shelves of Radio Flyer B-B guns, balsa wood airplanes, and other toys of yesteryear. It feels like the movie set of A Christmas Story, circa 1940. But it’s also like being a kid in a candy store—from malt balls, fire balls, Mary Janes, and Clove gum to trays of homemade fudge (they’ve sold over 4,000 pounds of it since they opened in July), there’s something to suit everyone’s taste buds.

Read the rest here.

I like Famous Brands and didn’t know they opened this new place. I’m definitely gonna check it out!

Am I missing the location?

22 minutes ago, KarenK said:

Am I missing the location?

I'm missing it too.

They've narrowed it down to Schuyler county, but that's it. LOL

Edited July 25Jul 25 by MsKreed

I think it’s north of Famous Brands, right in the main drag, just before Captain Bill’s.

I wonder if its the building they used have the winery in years ago